Music of Joy’s Ode to Joy – Canberra Multicultural Festival – February 2016

Hi five! This was the fifth year MOJ has appeared at the Multicultural Festival in the nation’s capital with a total of five performances including a concert in Cabramatta on the way from Sydney. As luck would have it, the band opened the festival on Saturday morning with a stirring rendition of the European Union anthem, Ode to Joy. Dignitaries present in the ‘European Village’ section of the festival for the opening included EU ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Sem Fabrizi and ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Yvette Berry. MOJ’s rendition of Ode to Joy included verses in the original German, as well as English – Musik der Freude!

The ‘Joy’ continued with performances at midday on the Saturday and then two on Sunday. Each performance was on a different stage, covering different areas of the festival, but each time it unfolded the same way. At the start, the band was welcomed on to the stage by a loyal entourage of supporters, some of whom had travelled from as far away as Vietnam and Canada. Then, as the tempo ramped up and the vibes started flowing crowds gathered to occupy all available shaded areas in the hot summer sun. Everywhere, leafy Plane trees sheltering clutches of audience throbbed and swayed in the cool summer breeze like giant hearts… Indeed, as one heart… ein herz, un coeur, ek dil, qalb wahid, yixin, jedno serce…